diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index e11e626d05213f4734815f03f8077ffae6793a51..15f37d58e9ed1c0236b3a67f4474e67522fa8ab1 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -943,7 +943,7 @@ BUILTIN_OBJS += builtin/verify-tag.o
 BUILTIN_OBJS += builtin/worktree.o
 BUILTIN_OBJS += builtin/write-tree.o
 
-GITLIBS = $(LIB_FILE) $(XDIFF_LIB)
+GITLIBS = common-main.o $(LIB_FILE) $(XDIFF_LIB)
 EXTLIBS =
 
 GIT_USER_AGENT = git/$(GIT_VERSION)
@@ -1572,7 +1572,15 @@ TCLTK_PATH_SQ = $(subst ','\'',$(TCLTK_PATH))
 DIFF_SQ = $(subst ','\'',$(DIFF))
 PERLLIB_EXTRA_SQ = $(subst ','\'',$(PERLLIB_EXTRA))
 
-LIBS = $(GITLIBS) $(EXTLIBS)
+# We must filter out any object files from $(GITLIBS),
+# as it is typically used like:
+#
+#   foo: foo.o $(GITLIBS)
+#	$(CC) $(filter %.o,$^) $(LIBS)
+#
+# where we use it as a dependency. Since we also pull object files
+# from the dependency list, that would make each entry appear twice.
+LIBS = $(filter-out %.o, $(GITLIBS)) $(EXTLIBS)
 
 BASIC_CFLAGS += -DSHA1_HEADER='$(SHA1_HEADER_SQ)' \
 	$(COMPAT_CFLAGS)
@@ -1708,8 +1716,8 @@ git.sp git.s git.o: EXTRA_CPPFLAGS = \
 	'-DGIT_INFO_PATH="$(infodir_relative_SQ)"'
 
 git$X: git.o GIT-LDFLAGS $(BUILTIN_OBJS) $(GITLIBS)
-	$(QUIET_LINK)$(CC) $(ALL_CFLAGS) -o $@ $(ALL_LDFLAGS) git.o \
-		$(BUILTIN_OBJS) $(LIBS)
+	$(QUIET_LINK)$(CC) $(ALL_CFLAGS) -o $@ $(ALL_LDFLAGS) \
+		$(filter %.o,$^) $(LIBS)
 
 help.sp help.s help.o: common-cmds.h
 
@@ -1902,6 +1910,7 @@ TEST_OBJS := $(patsubst test-%$X,test-%.o,$(TEST_PROGRAMS))
 OBJECTS := $(LIB_OBJS) $(BUILTIN_OBJS) $(PROGRAM_OBJS) $(TEST_OBJS) \
 	$(XDIFF_OBJS) \
 	$(VCSSVN_OBJS) \
+	common-main.o \
 	git.o
 ifndef NO_CURL
 	OBJECTS += http.o http-walker.o remote-curl.o
diff --git a/common-main.c b/common-main.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2b96bbf436bd5a519ca815642decee255ef814a3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/common-main.c
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+#include "git-compat-util.h"
+
+int main(int argc, char **av)
+{
+	/*
+	 * This const trickery is explained in
+	 * 84d32bf7678259c08406571cd6ce4b7a6724dcba
+	 */
+	const char **argv = (const char **)av;
+
+	return cmd_main(argc, argv);
+}
diff --git a/credential-cache--daemon.c b/credential-cache--daemon.c
index 291c0fd5e935b5abedc629697d44e5a9f57727bd..a4bf2366ab49701c99453d805e47eeade204d2c5 100644
--- a/credential-cache--daemon.c
+++ b/credential-cache--daemon.c
@@ -257,7 +257,7 @@ static void init_socket_directory(const char *path)
 	free(path_copy);
 }
 
-int main(int argc, const char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	const char *socket_path;
 	int ignore_sighup = 0;
diff --git a/credential-cache.c b/credential-cache.c
index 86e21de49be4d48defd3e9da5cde170291bca600..cc8a6ee19214b12758fc3d4b39ff4a07f4442d91 100644
--- a/credential-cache.c
+++ b/credential-cache.c
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ static void do_cache(const char *socket, const char *action, int timeout,
 	strbuf_release(&buf);
 }
 
-int main(int argc, const char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	char *socket_path = NULL;
 	int timeout = 900;
diff --git a/credential-store.c b/credential-store.c
index 57141679abdaa804282a0cc2d808e7c6687d924a..55ca1b1334319924dcbbf69ec39b2335e6a452aa 100644
--- a/credential-store.c
+++ b/credential-store.c
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ static void lookup_credential(const struct string_list *fns, struct credential *
 			return; /* Found credential */
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	const char * const usage[] = {
 		"git credential-store [<options>] <action>",
diff --git a/daemon.c b/daemon.c
index 8d45c336f5f816768962c39e8af6b10e0bb0e21e..e6b86d215325d51262f7507af3230d3b5f9cf21b 100644
--- a/daemon.c
+++ b/daemon.c
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ static const char daemon_usage[] =
 "           [<directory>...]";
 
 /* List of acceptable pathname prefixes */
-static char **ok_paths;
+static const char **ok_paths;
 static int strict_paths;
 
 /* If this is set, git-daemon-export-ok is not required */
@@ -240,7 +240,7 @@ static const char *path_ok(const char *directory, struct hostinfo *hi)
 	}
 
 	if ( ok_paths && *ok_paths ) {
-		char **pp;
+		const char **pp;
 		int pathlen = strlen(path);
 
 		/* The validation is done on the paths after enter_repo
@@ -1178,7 +1178,7 @@ static int serve(struct string_list *listen_addr, int listen_port,
 	return service_loop(&socklist);
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	int listen_port = 0;
 	struct string_list listen_addr = STRING_LIST_INIT_NODUP;
@@ -1193,7 +1193,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 	git_extract_argv0_path(argv[0]);
 
 	for (i = 1; i < argc; i++) {
-		char *arg = argv[i];
+		const char *arg = argv[i];
 		const char *v;
 
 		if (skip_prefix(arg, "--listen=", &v)) {
diff --git a/fast-import.c b/fast-import.c
index 9fc7093406b1e2085a3b2180a8506bcd6d486e06..bd649268b20b746e887f7e47c332faf53407a3f5 100644
--- a/fast-import.c
+++ b/fast-import.c
@@ -300,7 +300,7 @@ static int failure;
 static FILE *pack_edges;
 static unsigned int show_stats = 1;
 static int global_argc;
-static char **global_argv;
+static const char **global_argv;
 
 /* Memory pools */
 static size_t mem_pool_alloc = 2*1024*1024 - sizeof(struct mem_pool);
@@ -3381,7 +3381,7 @@ static void parse_argv(void)
 		read_marks();
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	unsigned int i;
 
diff --git a/git-compat-util.h b/git-compat-util.h
index 1f8b5f3b1f1ac17716681fee2d72b9c124a9b99c..91e366d1dd50902dc5249907e405339ed104e964 100644
--- a/git-compat-util.h
+++ b/git-compat-util.h
@@ -1043,3 +1043,5 @@ struct tm *git_gmtime_r(const time_t *, struct tm *);
 #endif
 
 #endif
+
+extern int cmd_main(int, const char **);
diff --git a/git.c b/git.c
index 968a8a464588f10c5c1564440e06d5e5afe8d37a..e2444046f5894fba768430c4d2e0aa66d6cd1fd5 100644
--- a/git.c
+++ b/git.c
@@ -630,9 +630,8 @@ static void restore_sigpipe_to_default(void)
 	signal(SIGPIPE, SIG_DFL);
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char **av)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
-	const char **argv = (const char **) av;
 	const char *cmd;
 	int done_help = 0;
 
diff --git a/http-backend.c b/http-backend.c
index 8870a2681eb375505e4273b03a0d3e034e59a48e..3249652b3df157e98a605549370fb714f0232e9a 100644
--- a/http-backend.c
+++ b/http-backend.c
@@ -632,7 +632,7 @@ static struct service_cmd {
 	{"POST", "/git-receive-pack$", service_rpc}
 };
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	char *method = getenv("REQUEST_METHOD");
 	char *dir;
diff --git a/http-fetch.c b/http-fetch.c
index ba3ea106708de01fc933e6743ab109bef2697f75..eb559eb83bc3d9cc66046af6039fbaeae865f605 100644
--- a/http-fetch.c
+++ b/http-fetch.c
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 static const char http_fetch_usage[] = "git http-fetch "
 "[-c] [-t] [-a] [-v] [--recover] [-w ref] [--stdin] commit-id url";
 
-int main(int argc, const char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	struct walker *walker;
 	int commits_on_stdin = 0;
diff --git a/http-push.c b/http-push.c
index bd60668707b956160edd9fb22767758023571ebb..98228a426268abc348e68fee2304004bb4f77e31 100644
--- a/http-push.c
+++ b/http-push.c
@@ -1692,12 +1692,12 @@ static void run_request_queue(void)
 #endif
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	struct transfer_request *request;
 	struct transfer_request *next_request;
 	int nr_refspec = 0;
-	char **refspec = NULL;
+	const char **refspec = NULL;
 	struct remote_lock *ref_lock = NULL;
 	struct remote_lock *info_ref_lock = NULL;
 	struct rev_info revs;
@@ -1717,7 +1717,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 
 	argv++;
 	for (i = 1; i < argc; i++, argv++) {
-		char *arg = *argv;
+		const char *arg = *argv;
 
 		if (*arg == '-') {
 			if (!strcmp(arg, "--all")) {
diff --git a/imap-send.c b/imap-send.c
index 938c6915858b93b7c860e49e906c45e0e2ea5d03..890e1cbb64fa391892abae04b491dd3232ecd032 100644
--- a/imap-send.c
+++ b/imap-send.c
@@ -1494,7 +1494,7 @@ static int curl_append_msgs_to_imap(struct imap_server_conf *server,
 }
 #endif
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	struct strbuf all_msgs = STRBUF_INIT;
 	int total;
diff --git a/remote-curl.c b/remote-curl.c
index 15e48e25fb9fb8cd2e9e3e7a63cf08d2f9483ea2..6ebc2a0c11b1e28feddaf5c13fcc9c4c9daf216c 100644
--- a/remote-curl.c
+++ b/remote-curl.c
@@ -984,7 +984,7 @@ static void parse_push(struct strbuf *buf)
 	free(specs);
 }
 
-int main(int argc, const char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	struct strbuf buf = STRBUF_INIT;
 	int nongit;
diff --git a/remote-testsvn.c b/remote-testsvn.c
index f05ff45298207258c257c2118206fbbfa0a4c670..32631eb14a04d769cc5a185477ee93aca69b663a 100644
--- a/remote-testsvn.c
+++ b/remote-testsvn.c
@@ -284,7 +284,7 @@ static int do_command(struct strbuf *line)
 	return 0;
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	struct strbuf buf = STRBUF_INIT, url_sb = STRBUF_INIT,
 			private_ref_sb = STRBUF_INIT, marksfilename_sb = STRBUF_INIT,
diff --git a/sh-i18n--envsubst.c b/sh-i18n--envsubst.c
index 2842a22d7fdda33d62d617d5ba9b826ad428c17e..e06b2c1311f72d1023b34c937ab48cd56ae8e206 100644
--- a/sh-i18n--envsubst.c
+++ b/sh-i18n--envsubst.c
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ static void note_variables (const char *string);
 static void subst_from_stdin (void);
 
 int
-main (int argc, char *argv[])
+cmd_main (int argc, const char *argv[])
 {
   /* Default values for command line options.  */
   /* unsigned short int show_variables = 0; */
diff --git a/shell.c b/shell.c
index c5439a63e9678e1dc3dfa7d4e1f2a97c331e54d6..3dd7fdcfe61479f213ebeaedbfd3090cd5a93852 100644
--- a/shell.c
+++ b/shell.c
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ static struct commands {
 	{ NULL },
 };
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	char *prog;
 	const char **user_argv;
diff --git a/show-index.c b/show-index.c
index acf8d5445ad96aacf6d2c3ccc2d77a3815291228..575f9c589456a054d208fd9c38666bb351cb0b70 100644
--- a/show-index.c
+++ b/show-index.c
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 static const char show_index_usage[] =
 "git show-index";
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	int i;
 	unsigned nr;
diff --git a/test-chmtime.c b/test-chmtime.c
index dfe8a83261b3623e64f99ddf8dc775616771ec4d..e760256406fa9c2fe0f9b2cde0ffb97ff11c6cab 100644
--- a/test-chmtime.c
+++ b/test-chmtime.c
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ static int timespec_arg(const char *arg, long int *set_time, int *set_eq)
 	return 1;
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char *argv[])
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	static int verbose;
 
diff --git a/test-config.c b/test-config.c
index 6a775522105d9bfc5c1c60f36944bc43e64badef..d143cd72223dec9c947fbf84d0f72945745a09c6 100644
--- a/test-config.c
+++ b/test-config.c
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@
  */
 
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	int i, val;
 	const char *v;
diff --git a/test-ctype.c b/test-ctype.c
index 707a821f03d59b1b3685b380fa4f3e83535c5342..bb72c47df570d9c07ae4567fd6d31ea49fe49656 100644
--- a/test-ctype.c
+++ b/test-ctype.c
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ static int is_in(const char *s, int ch)
 #define LOWER "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz"
 #define UPPER "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ"
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	TEST_CLASS(isdigit, DIGIT);
 	TEST_CLASS(isspace, " \n\r\t");
diff --git a/test-date.c b/test-date.c
index 63f373557e7236d294fb580d38db9e6d331e53d3..0f3cfb1721b641b25267458edce93c9de2f923e2 100644
--- a/test-date.c
+++ b/test-date.c
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ static const char *usage_msg = "\n"
 "  test-date parse [date]...\n"
 "  test-date approxidate [date]...\n";
 
-static void show_dates(char **argv, struct timeval *now)
+static void show_dates(const char **argv, struct timeval *now)
 {
 	struct strbuf buf = STRBUF_INIT;
 
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ static void show_dates(char **argv, struct timeval *now)
 	strbuf_release(&buf);
 }
 
-static void parse_dates(char **argv, struct timeval *now)
+static void parse_dates(const char **argv, struct timeval *now)
 {
 	struct strbuf result = STRBUF_INIT;
 
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ static void parse_dates(char **argv, struct timeval *now)
 	strbuf_release(&result);
 }
 
-static void parse_approxidate(char **argv, struct timeval *now)
+static void parse_approxidate(const char **argv, struct timeval *now)
 {
 	for (; *argv; argv++) {
 		time_t t;
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ static void parse_approxidate(char **argv, struct timeval *now)
 	}
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	struct timeval now;
 	const char *x;
diff --git a/test-delta.c b/test-delta.c
index 4595cd6433f9fd543791ee5a8a59a9112b50c046..59937dc1be1c4f0b3d80e3ef3a86e09bff3703b6 100644
--- a/test-delta.c
+++ b/test-delta.c
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
 static const char usage_str[] =
 	"test-delta (-d|-p) <from_file> <data_file> <out_file>";
 
-int main(int argc, char *argv[])
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	int fd;
 	struct stat st;
diff --git a/test-dump-cache-tree.c b/test-dump-cache-tree.c
index bb53c0aa655c7a2df09638024b304a79e8b07fc6..44f3290258a003317e4aad4f90d17ce5529e3b07 100644
--- a/test-dump-cache-tree.c
+++ b/test-dump-cache-tree.c
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ static int dump_cache_tree(struct cache_tree *it,
 	return errs;
 }
 
-int main(int ac, char **av)
+int cmd_main(int ac, const char **av)
 {
 	struct index_state istate;
 	struct cache_tree *another = cache_tree();
diff --git a/test-dump-split-index.c b/test-dump-split-index.c
index 861d28c9b6c1b4d95f74ffbd95bc279ea0d377eb..d1689248b4937fbecaf16129c4016814554b983d 100644
--- a/test-dump-split-index.c
+++ b/test-dump-split-index.c
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ static void show_bit(size_t pos, void *data)
 	printf(" %d", (int)pos);
 }
 
-int main(int ac, char **av)
+int cmd_main(int ac, const char **av)
 {
 	struct split_index *si;
 	int i;
diff --git a/test-dump-untracked-cache.c b/test-dump-untracked-cache.c
index 0a1c28524668f02d3aa4d073c0c6991652cbf850..50112cc8586c75cf9f9b5fac65ea2f7dbc1a69e2 100644
--- a/test-dump-untracked-cache.c
+++ b/test-dump-untracked-cache.c
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ static void dump(struct untracked_cache_dir *ucd, struct strbuf *base)
 	strbuf_setlen(base, len);
 }
 
-int main(int ac, char **av)
+int cmd_main(int ac, const char **av)
 {
 	struct untracked_cache *uc;
 	struct strbuf base = STRBUF_INIT;
diff --git a/test-fake-ssh.c b/test-fake-ssh.c
index 980de216e10990a6406cae6e0b023c5fee7de488..12beee99ad2f4e70e804b21895522d6d362929d2 100644
--- a/test-fake-ssh.c
+++ b/test-fake-ssh.c
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 #include "run-command.h"
 #include "strbuf.h"
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	const char *trash_directory = getenv("TRASH_DIRECTORY");
 	struct strbuf buf = STRBUF_INIT;
diff --git a/test-genrandom.c b/test-genrandom.c
index 54824d075421e792f337beb5cdce170a33b00e68..8d11d22d98649900b6d558cc174e2af1dbff9948 100644
--- a/test-genrandom.c
+++ b/test-genrandom.c
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 
 #include "git-compat-util.h"
 
-int main(int argc, char *argv[])
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	unsigned long count, next = 0;
 	unsigned char *c;
diff --git a/test-hashmap.c b/test-hashmap.c
index cc2891dd971edfa70733eb327d12ccb66fd09f3e..7aa9440e274fb443a30b3f61a241f4fea1601f10 100644
--- a/test-hashmap.c
+++ b/test-hashmap.c
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ static void perf_hashmap(unsigned int method, unsigned int rounds)
  *
  * perfhashmap method rounds -> test hashmap.[ch] performance
  */
-int main(int argc, char *argv[])
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	char line[1024];
 	struct hashmap map;
diff --git a/test-index-version.c b/test-index-version.c
index 05d4699c4a6cf32b2b6291e275dafa2744fe19d6..f569f6b7eff87227f82dbe6390fd31fb970a5fca 100644
--- a/test-index-version.c
+++ b/test-index-version.c
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #include "cache.h"
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	struct cache_header hdr;
 	int version;
diff --git a/test-line-buffer.c b/test-line-buffer.c
index 1e58f0476f3465f9b8b361cc4776abf5c051430b..81575fe2ab91b550067ce8180650b003bdd939b7 100644
--- a/test-line-buffer.c
+++ b/test-line-buffer.c
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ static void handle_line(const char *line, struct line_buffer *stdin_buf)
 	handle_command(line, arg + 1, stdin_buf);
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char *argv[])
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	struct line_buffer stdin_buf = LINE_BUFFER_INIT;
 	struct line_buffer file_buf = LINE_BUFFER_INIT;
diff --git a/test-match-trees.c b/test-match-trees.c
index 4dad7095f10bb324f043ff8132678488b65d4537..afcdc143b51e0143f8d8761b927ff02b42ca7580 100644
--- a/test-match-trees.c
+++ b/test-match-trees.c
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 #include "cache.h"
 #include "tree.h"
 
-int main(int ac, char **av)
+int cmd_main(int ac, const char **av)
 {
 	unsigned char hash1[20], hash2[20], shifted[20];
 	struct tree *one, *two;
diff --git a/test-mergesort.c b/test-mergesort.c
index ea3b959e94ff6f53726d4fce955bca1181a3be07..335cf6b6264cdaf9563736fbcfa40e7a3006a432 100644
--- a/test-mergesort.c
+++ b/test-mergesort.c
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ static int compare_strings(const void *a, const void *b)
 	return strcmp(x->text, y->text);
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	struct line *line, *p = NULL, *lines = NULL;
 	struct strbuf sb = STRBUF_INIT;
diff --git a/test-mktemp.c b/test-mktemp.c
index c8c54213a3916c4adffd7396a37ed83e88af34fb..89d9b2f7bee05ff5c9fde31ba6798651ccee2947 100644
--- a/test-mktemp.c
+++ b/test-mktemp.c
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
  */
 #include "git-compat-util.h"
 
-int main(int argc, char *argv[])
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	if (argc != 2)
 		usage("Expected 1 parameter defining the temporary file template");
diff --git a/test-parse-options.c b/test-parse-options.c
index 2c8c8f18edb46378b39c170b4ae6f7250ec631f5..7adae43b87a8e89652681b850e6e6d586ef30462 100644
--- a/test-parse-options.c
+++ b/test-parse-options.c
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ static int number_callback(const struct option *opt, const char *arg, int unset)
 	return 0;
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	const char *prefix = "prefix/";
 	const char *usage[] = {
diff --git a/test-path-utils.c b/test-path-utils.c
index ba805b374c57a4e5ad2e6e4a4b9071a11c165afa..1ebe0f750c648cd4d92983c11ace9e8a86327dd1 100644
--- a/test-path-utils.c
+++ b/test-path-utils.c
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ static struct test_data dirname_data[] = {
 	{ NULL,              NULL     }
 };
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	if (argc == 3 && !strcmp(argv[1], "normalize_path_copy")) {
 		char *buf = xmallocz(strlen(argv[2]));
@@ -213,7 +213,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 	}
 
 	if (argc >= 4 && !strcmp(argv[1], "prefix_path")) {
-		char *prefix = argv[2];
+		const char *prefix = argv[2];
 		int prefix_len = strlen(prefix);
 		int nongit_ok;
 		setup_git_directory_gently(&nongit_ok);
diff --git a/test-prio-queue.c b/test-prio-queue.c
index 7be72f0086ba4b80cecf9f324bd5152a8531cdbd..ae58fff35972a09c08a47d2bc0abb67c96ba20eb 100644
--- a/test-prio-queue.c
+++ b/test-prio-queue.c
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ static void show(int *v)
 	free(v);
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	struct prio_queue pq = { intcmp };
 
diff --git a/test-read-cache.c b/test-read-cache.c
index b25bcf139b2bf61292eb9910cb4f92d8ce7763bd..2a7990efc31d042121122a17890c623d7714c128 100644
--- a/test-read-cache.c
+++ b/test-read-cache.c
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #include "cache.h"
 
-int main (int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	int i, cnt = 1;
 	if (argc == 2)
diff --git a/test-regex.c b/test-regex.c
index 0dc598ecdc2696af956b1c517166f9e28b37dc68..37b7f06e552ef51c852f54e70d66c434ca50b6b2 100644
--- a/test-regex.c
+++ b/test-regex.c
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #include "git-compat-util.h"
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	char *pat = "[^={} \t]+";
 	char *str = "={}\nfred";
diff --git a/test-revision-walking.c b/test-revision-walking.c
index 3d0313354b3e100fe3624b58c61af7cc7e0f8e7b..b8e6fe1d007449d30dd30ccd4319b26f151bbf23 100644
--- a/test-revision-walking.c
+++ b/test-revision-walking.c
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ static int run_revision_walk(void)
 	return got_revision;
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	if (argc < 2)
 		return 1;
diff --git a/test-run-command.c b/test-run-command.c
index 30a64a98dc8b53a3a2d7edfaa57a8ee51d5d63e7..c71ea4f759bf15253841bda5dd95f0783d0f7ad6 100644
--- a/test-run-command.c
+++ b/test-run-command.c
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ static int task_finished(int result,
 	return 1;
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	struct child_process proc = CHILD_PROCESS_INIT;
 	int jobs;
diff --git a/test-scrap-cache-tree.c b/test-scrap-cache-tree.c
index 6efee31a4867b4ff8493161376e5a9cfdd48fe44..5b2fd0990894dd59a074ded5822bbcf215a989aa 100644
--- a/test-scrap-cache-tree.c
+++ b/test-scrap-cache-tree.c
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 
 static struct lock_file index_lock;
 
-int main(int ac, char **av)
+int cmd_main(int ac, const char **av)
 {
 	hold_locked_index(&index_lock, 1);
 	if (read_cache() < 0)
diff --git a/test-sha1-array.c b/test-sha1-array.c
index 60ea1d5f14e2572df5716da5815143ed26a5be4b..09f77909716326bdb76a79d3c32d10b74702e1d5 100644
--- a/test-sha1-array.c
+++ b/test-sha1-array.c
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ static void print_sha1(const unsigned char sha1[20], void *data)
 	puts(sha1_to_hex(sha1));
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	struct sha1_array array = SHA1_ARRAY_INIT;
 	struct strbuf line = STRBUF_INIT;
diff --git a/test-sha1.c b/test-sha1.c
index e57eae10bf73baac79fd8b95ddb0ff1b4c8c0cd6..a1c13f54eca0db7d11a5df134d565171d70b8cce 100644
--- a/test-sha1.c
+++ b/test-sha1.c
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #include "cache.h"
 
-int main(int ac, char **av)
+int cmd_main(int ac, const char **av)
 {
 	git_SHA_CTX ctx;
 	unsigned char sha1[20];
diff --git a/test-sigchain.c b/test-sigchain.c
index e499fce60ff50069ace6174ef9fa3ca4aff0cdc8..b71edbd4429184b59b4bd1355d5cfb53970a1876 100644
--- a/test-sigchain.c
+++ b/test-sigchain.c
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ X(two)
 X(three)
 #undef X
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv) {
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv) {
 	sigchain_push(SIGTERM, one);
 	sigchain_push(SIGTERM, two);
 	sigchain_push(SIGTERM, three);
diff --git a/test-string-list.c b/test-string-list.c
index 14bdf9d2153a98d0b2a5d03395c1adcc166f8a07..4a68967bd126e5ab74ec2b39113cce58e7c021bf 100644
--- a/test-string-list.c
+++ b/test-string-list.c
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ static int prefix_cb(struct string_list_item *item, void *cb_data)
 	return starts_with(item->string, prefix);
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	if (argc == 5 && !strcmp(argv[1], "split")) {
 		struct string_list list = STRING_LIST_INIT_DUP;
diff --git a/test-submodule-config.c b/test-submodule-config.c
index dab8c27768160d4cfa61c41a95004eb7a8a336b6..2cffded116f77d7c62ee718fa08558b52574a205 100644
--- a/test-submodule-config.c
+++ b/test-submodule-config.c
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 #include "submodule-config.h"
 #include "submodule.h"
 
-static void die_usage(int argc, char **argv, const char *msg)
+static void die_usage(int argc, const char **argv, const char *msg)
 {
 	fprintf(stderr, "%s\n", msg);
 	fprintf(stderr, "Usage: %s [<commit> <submodulepath>] ...\n", argv[0]);
@@ -14,9 +14,9 @@ static int git_test_config(const char *var, const char *value, void *cb)
 	return parse_submodule_config_option(var, value);
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
-	char **arg = argv;
+	const char **arg = argv;
 	int my_argc = argc;
 	int output_url = 0;
 	int lookup_name = 0;
diff --git a/test-subprocess.c b/test-subprocess.c
index 56881a032471752ca16880d98ea1510e16d38eed..30c5765bfc3590421c21bc2350eed882752de3a0 100644
--- a/test-subprocess.c
+++ b/test-subprocess.c
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 #include "cache.h"
 #include "run-command.h"
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	struct child_process cp = CHILD_PROCESS_INIT;
 	int nogit = 0;
diff --git a/test-svn-fe.c b/test-svn-fe.c
index 120ec96b0dbd94e7be9ffc81d0fb87ccbd30a7df..7667c0803f1231152190a1a5b4c61a2fb2677048 100644
--- a/test-svn-fe.c
+++ b/test-svn-fe.c
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 static const char test_svnfe_usage[] =
 	"test-svn-fe (<dumpfile> | [-d] <preimage> <delta> <len>)";
 
-static int apply_delta(int argc, char *argv[])
+static int apply_delta(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	struct line_buffer preimage = LINE_BUFFER_INIT;
 	struct line_buffer delta = LINE_BUFFER_INIT;
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ static int apply_delta(int argc, char *argv[])
 	return 0;
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char *argv[])
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	if (argc == 2) {
 		if (svndump_init(argv[1]))
diff --git a/test-urlmatch-normalization.c b/test-urlmatch-normalization.c
index 090bf219a7d499ae246f80c0d478eb37fdef8f8f..49b6e836be257c0689601bf17138439cff0d61a0 100644
--- a/test-urlmatch-normalization.c
+++ b/test-urlmatch-normalization.c
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 #include "git-compat-util.h"
 #include "urlmatch.h"
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	const char usage[] = "test-urlmatch-normalization [-p | -l] <url1> | <url1> <url2>";
 	char *url1, *url2;
diff --git a/test-wildmatch.c b/test-wildmatch.c
index 578b164fe603f11dfe67e25be36a6ab38aa6d645..52be876fed3bcc3bb5a1def5de8febe8b29c0ec4 100644
--- a/test-wildmatch.c
+++ b/test-wildmatch.c
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #include "cache.h"
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	int i;
 	for (i = 2; i < argc; i++) {
diff --git a/upload-pack.c b/upload-pack.c
index dc802a07c2225463c2e4ee923b9cf144d57a00cc..909ce68cfb8bb18ea7e6b6c9d27fbd8620ba73d3 100644
--- a/upload-pack.c
+++ b/upload-pack.c
@@ -817,9 +817,9 @@ static int upload_pack_config(const char *var, const char *value, void *unused)
 	return parse_hide_refs_config(var, value, "uploadpack");
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
-	char *dir;
+	const char *dir;
 	int i;
 	int strict = 0;
 
@@ -830,7 +830,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 	check_replace_refs = 0;
 
 	for (i = 1; i < argc; i++) {
-		char *arg = argv[i];
+		const char *arg = argv[i];
 
 		if (arg[0] != '-')
 			break;